Expat and travel blog featuring stories on living overseas destinations, as well as some stuff on the expat blogosphere too.

February 2013

02/27/2013

As a kind of sequel to yesterday's post, today I want to talk about the ways in which people find themselves living abroad, and the choices that lead them to the places where they end up living long term or perhaps even indefinitely.

In many cases it's simply a matter of where people's career takes them. If you work for a large company that has a base in another country, the choice might be more about the kind of job you'll be doing overseas - it may be a promotion or the employee may just feel that a change of scene is the most important thing.

Then, of course, there are people who have their heart set on living in a specific destination. There was a recent story on the BBC News website about an American Nasa employee whose obsession with the idea of working in a bookshop in rural Scotland grew to the extent that she made the dream a happy reality. It's almost as if some people become expatriates by osmosis - that some instinctive force pulls them towards their new country of residence.

There weren't any rural Scottish town in Mercer's list of the the world's top 50 cities, since you'd need a population of a lot more than 800 residents to become an international destination centre for expatriates. But there are a good number of places on the list that will no doubt have their share of people who went there to follow a dream.

Alongside work and simply having a yearning for an overseas location, people also have a list of their own criteria for what makes a desirable place. Culture, public transport, healthcare and so on. Health insurance for expatriates is an important consideration regardless of destination since even European Economic Area nationals traveling between other EEA countries can be charged to wards the cost of treatment even with a valid EHIC card. And going further afield it's also important especially for peace of mind, knowing that quality treatment will be available for the things the policy covers.

What would be on your list of criteria for the ideal overseas location?

02/26/2013

There are some places in Europe (and beyond) that seem to get the lion's share of the online chatter. Take Prague for instance - it's a city that many talk about in almost reverential terms, and rightly so - because it is an amazing place.

But for some reason Vienna - while obviously admired worldwide for its culture, architecture and so on- doesn't seem to be as trendy a name to drop.

However, those who live in Vienna seem to have nothing but praise for the Austrian capital. And at the close of last year consulting company Mercer's quality of living survey ranked the top 50 cities worldwide on various criteria relating quality of life.

And guess which fine city came first? That's right. Of course it was Vienna. For comparison's sake, London made 38 on the list.

According to an article published in the expatriate section of the Telegraph today - 26 Feb 2013 (in case you've chanced upon this post at some point in the far future. If so, hi, and thanks for finding this post!) - Vienna is popular among expats for the fact that it has a low crime rate and is 'ggod value for money'.

However, the article is realistic about the Austrian capital and doesn't attempt to paint it in a light of absolute perfection,

Vienna, however, has its downside. As Vienna-based British expat Ben Stuttard observes: “The Viennese themselves come across as a bit dour, reminiscent of Jack Lemon’s role as Daphne in Some Like it Hot. But as the film sums it up, ‘Nobody’s perfect’!” And neither is any city in the world…

02/25/2013

It's something that nobody can escape but perhaps something we don't admit to often enough: we're only human.

So while it's obviously beneficial always to have a robustly positive outlook and to value one's own resilience, there are simply just going to be times when we're not at our best.

And if the figures for mental health are anything to go by, then it's likely that even if we've never suffered from stress, depression or anxiety, then we're likely to know someone who has either been through a period where one of these has affected them, or is currently affected.

Luckily, these days, mental health issues no longer have a stigma attached to them - and some very well known people such as Alastair Campbell and Stephen Fry have talked quite openly about mental health issues, and very much helped others do so too, in realisation that mental illness can - like any illness - befall anyone.

Expats of course will often have international health cover, which (depending on the level of policy coverage) can cover psychiatric consultations. But of course many times when we feel we need assistance it's not for anything that would require a doctor, which is where web therapies can come in.

According to Sean Truman of the Truman Group (interviewed by UAE newspaper The National)

People living overseas frequently feel isolated and disconnected, and that feeling makes it seem as though they are the only person who is struggling (or who has ever struggled) in this way. If you are reading this and you think that you are the only person who is struggling and feeling hopeless, helpless or worried, I can assure you that you are not alone. [full story here]

So, in order to help people Truman set up a company that provides counselling for expats via Skype. It's an interesting idea - and it's often mentioned in journals that are based on the topic of futurology that "telehealth" (as it's called) is likely to revolutionise healthcare. And this could be an early example of that potential starting to be fulfilled.

02/23/2013

If you're brought up in the UK, then you're used to a certain kind of rhythm of working life - weekends off, the usual bank holidays and aroud 20 days (4 working weeks) annual leave.

When you think about it, this is actually a pretty good deal. If you book your leave judicioulsy, it means that you can have a decent holiday in the summer as well as odd days off and a shorter break here and there too. All of which adds up to a happy and productive time at work, since there's always a time in the not-too-far-off future when you're going to be able to get a bit of downtime and recharge the batteries. Having something to look forward to gives us an energy that helps us be productive and happy in work - adding value all round and making life just that little bit better. How many of us on rainy Monday mornings cheer ourselves up with the thought of an upcoming summer holiday, lying back by the pool, sipping a cold drink and feeling totally relaxed?

The UK has a decent amount of statutory annual leave, comparable to France and Germany, although it does seem that most places have a statutory minimum of around 20 working days, which is plenty of time to have a holiday or two.

Spare a thought for workers in the USA, though, where there is no statutory annual leave. That doesn't mean, of course, that nobody gets a holiday - but by all accounts there are fewer days of annual leave per employee. In an interesting article for the BBC website, author Michael Godfarb states that:

Nine days of annual leave is what the average American accrues during the course of a year. So you have to be at your job for 12 months before you begin to get even that amount.

If you figure that folks might take a day or two at Christmas, maybe Thanksgiving, and keep a day or two in the bank for a family emergency, what you're left with come the good weather is a week of vacation if you're lucky.

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Do you think there should be more annual leave? Let us know in the comments.

02/21/2013

In the Telegraph this week there's a very interesting blog post by Anna Nicholas, who is a UK expatriate resident on the beautiful Spanish island of majorca.

A long term resident of this wonderful and tourist-beloved area within the Balearic archipelago, Nicholas takes us on a journey from her initial time on the island in the late 90s up to the present day. One of the big changes she notes is that when she arrived in Majorca, there was good language training provided by a local language school costin 30 euros a lesson. But after time passed and people had less miney to spend, attendance at the language training centre dropped, with the result being that language courses were being provided by unaffiliated tutors, some of whom didn't have a qualification in Spanish as a second language.

Meanwhile, over at the popular expat blog Christina in Spain, our intrepid Spanish based blogger discusses the "Expat Dilemma", which she characterises as being between a nostalgia for the familiar and an urge to seek out the new. It's a question I'm sure many expats have no doubt pondered, and it is a very interesting thing to think about. In fact on more than one occasion I've known people go off to live in a very culturally different environment such as Japan, pine for home pretty much the whole couple of years they're over there, only to get a reverse culture shock and then start pining for japan on their return home.

Spain, however - despite being a foreign country, is still relatively close to the UK, and has a very large share of British and Irish expats. If you're intending on visiting in the country, then you will need an EHIC card plus travel cover. But if you're going to live there and are looking for health insurance, Spain as an expatriate this means that by purchasing coverage you'll be able to avoid waiting lists for any treatment that's covered by the policy - and have access to health professionals who speak English - which is also imprtant if you haven't quite got your Spanish language chops yet.

02/20/2013

We all have to save for our retirement - it's just a fact of life, if we're hoping to maintain the standard of living we grow accustomed to during our working years.

But the amount we actually save can of course be affected by many different things. If you were lucky enough, as an expat, to buy property somwehere during a period when it was going at bargain prices - and maneged to pay off the mortgage early - then chances are you'll have a bit of spare cash to keep the pension pot topped generously up.

If, on the other hand, you're struggling to make ends meet - or running a pretty tight ship (as many of us are these days) then you could well be finding it challenge enough just to squeeze out a bare minimum of pension contributions.

This week it's been reported that expats in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are putting off the time when they start saving for retirement until later than people elsewhere. One of the reasons given is the cost of living in the UAE.

One of the things that is likely to change within the UAE is the provision of financial products for pensions - since the country's populace is composed of more expats than Emirati nationals, it means that a lot of the pension money is paid into offshore accounts despite the fact that many people will continue to live in the country for many years to come, possibly in many cases even continuing into retirement too.

The retirement provision shortfall could well also be something that's lnked to recessionary conditions. After all, the UAE isn't the only country that has had to roll with the economic punches over the last 5 or so years . So, just as the number of people who feel they have adequate retirement savings measures in place has fallen by 20% since 2009, that number could well increase as Dubai and the rest of the UAE continue to recover after the downturn.

02/15/2013

Ah, the cost of living. Those of us who are able to remember those heady days before the economic downturn will remember a time when everything seemed relatively cheap. When things like frozen peas or a pint of beer were affordable rather than a once a week treat or luxury.

And as our personal budgets have become tighter, it's the same with companies too - we all have to be a tightly run ship these days. Companies can cut costs in lots of ways - from being more economical with various costs such as, say, corporate entertainment or the managing of utilities (maybe using lower energy appliances etc) - and save some cash.

Interestingly, a recent survey indicated that, while one of the most valued staff benefits within organisations is private health cover, there's little difference in the amount of employer provision bewteen PMI for deomestic employees and international healthcare insurance (iPMI) for staff who are working abroad on an international assignment.

This may in part be down to awareness levels of iPMI generally - indeed in some cases respondents were of the belief that an employees travel insurance would cover them for the time they spend abroad.

For many companies, iPMI is likely to be viewed not in terms of being a benefit as such, and maybe perhaps more of a necessity - this would of course depend on the part of the world the employee is working in. Certainly, it's the view of many experts that in the event that an employee fell ill overseas uninsured, that their employer would be likely to be the one who eventually ends up paying the medical treatment bills.

So for companies who are buying iPMI on behalf of their overseas workforce, how can the cost be reduced? There are a number of ways, including:

Purchase basic cover and then any add ons required, that way you're not paying for anything surplus to your needs

Add an excess to the policy, as this can bring premiums down

Look at the areas where staff are based - some areas such as Europe may mean that reduced cover is adequate while other areas may men more comprehensive cover is required.

02/14/2013

I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of all the driving clips on YouTube. From the back streets of Paris to the literally awesome Moscow Ring Road, there's a wealth of automotive video fun to be had.

If you're intending on visiting a country overseas - whether as an expat or simply for a holiday, it's often a good idea to see some of the driving clips filmed in your intended destination - they say quite a lot about the general driving ambience, and also sometimes give an insight into the driving behavious in that country.

This clip shows Kuwait's 6th Ring Road in full flow - this road is one of a number of not-quite concentric (or even fully ring-shaped) roads that radiate outwards from the city. This being the sixth one, it's more or less in the suburbs and a good few miles long. Not quite the M25, then - but still a decent bit of road for those of us who like that kind of thing!

02/13/2013

While obviously the most popular destination for UK expats is South Africa, there's a whole continent out there beyond the more familiar spots.

Incidentally, South Africa isn't just the most popular expat destination in Africa, it's also in the top 10 of popular expatriate destinations worldwide. And with over a quarter of a million UK nationals resident there, you can be sure there will be potential expat friends over there to meet and chat with about the snowy weather back home.

While it may not have the skyscarper glitz of Hong Kong or the futuristic big city feel of Tokyo, Luanda in Angola was the moist expensive city for expats in 2011. The FCO states that people travelling to Angola should "should take out comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling, including cover for medical repatriation by air ambulance."

International health insurance is extremely important especially important for people from the UK who are living in countries outside of the EEA (European Economic Area). And also, of course, for people living in areas where the non-private medical facilities don't offer the same level of treatment and care as what is available in the West.

One of the bigger health risks in Africa in many countries including Nigeri and Zambia is that of malaria. Indeed, it's estimated that a quarter of the world's malaria cases are contracted in Nigeria. It's important, then, to find out the preventative treatments available before travelling to any country where the disease is prevalent.

For an idea of the expat destinations in Africa and the experiences of people living abroad on the continent, check out some of the bigger expat forums, which contain a lot of useful info.

02/11/2013

If you're thinking about becoming an expatriate, then sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start - where can I move to? What job can I do when I get there? So, before actually booking any flights abroad there's a bit of thinking, planning and preparation that we all have to do.

First of all it's woth looking at the ease of access into different countries. If you're looking to move permanently to the US, for instance, then unless you're going there under the auspices of an international assignment with your employer, you may have to do quite a bit of research into the various ways of obtaining the rights to work in the country.

One place to start looking is the US Citizenship and Immigration Services portal, which contains a lot of information on the different types and classifications of worker. Depending on your skills, you may be in a position to emigrate quite easily - do you have 'extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics'? Or are you a multinational executives or manager? Then you may be at the top of the 'visa preference' list! The rest of us, however, may find things a little bit more of a challenge.

Of course, if you're the citizen of an EEA country, then moving around within the EEA is easy - or rather it's easy in terms of the emigratiuon process, since if you're from the UK you have the right to live in these countries. But of course if you move to, say Riga in Latvia, then it will involve attaining some language skills before you go, which wouldn't be the case in Aautralia.